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Former Milan mifielder Manuel Locatelli's second-half strike was enough to wear down the home side, which had been reduced to 10 men late in the first half after Malik Thiaw was shown a straight red for denying Moise Kean a clear goal-scoring opportunity.

The unfortunate Krunic had only been on the pitch three minutes but there was little he could do when Locatelli’s speculative 30-yard shot, which was heading wide, cannoned off him and left third-choice goalkeeper Antonio Mirante stranded.

But the 40-year-old stopper made a brilliant double save in stoppage-time to keep the scoreline respectable enough, but all three points went back to Turin.

Victory moved Juve, which registered a fourth successive clean sheet for the first time since January, to within a point of Milan and just two behind leader Inter Milan after its win at Torino 24 hours earlier.

There had been little between the two sides prior to Thiaw’s sending off. Olivier Giroud had Milan’s best chance in the 14th minute when his low shot on the turn from Rafael Leao’s cross was tipped around the post by former Arsenal team-mate Wojciech Szczesny.

Adrien Rabiot flashed a cross-shot wide of the left-hand post of Mirante, making his first appearance in two years, before the red card saw Christian Pulisic sacrificed in order to be able to bring on Pierre Kalulu.

Kean should have put the visitors ahead on the stroke of half-time but after getting between Fikayo Tomori and Alessandro Florenzi he failed to connect properly with Rabiot’s low, inswinging cross from six yards out.

Juve failed to make its advantage account until the 63rd minute when Locatelli let fly and benefited from the unfortunate Krunic’s inadvertent intervention.

Mirante, himself a former Juve player, then found himself with more to do as he tipped over Dusan Vlahovic’s powerful strike before producing a good double save from Andrea Cambiaso and Vlahovic in stoppage-time.